America's Cup alumni Daniel Fong joins Doyle Sails NZ design team

by Doyle Sails on 20 Dec 2016 Doyle Sails New Zealand is ending 2016 with another impressive name from global sailing joining their team. Effective immediately Daniel Fong has joined the sail design team working alongside Richard Bouzaid, Director of Design, and the rest of the expert company’s expert designers.

Over his long career, racing professionally since 1997, Fong has worked as a trimmer on a huge number of high profile campaigns and races including the Whitbread Round the Word Race, Volvo Ocean Race, the America’s Cup for America True Sailing Team, Luna Rossa Challenge, BMW Oracle Racing and Team New Zealand, superyachts including the J Class’ Ranger and Velsheda, TP52s, and Bella Mente and Momo Racing on the Mini Maxi Circuit.

“I have been friends with Richard, Duffy and Mike [Doyle NZ directors] since we did our sail making apprenticeship together 20 years ago and, having since worked alongside them on a number of projects, I’m thrilled to be joining Doyle Sails as part of their Sail Design team,” says Fong. “When I first visited the Doyle loft I was hugely impressed by the facility and the quality work that they were producing and I am excited about the future of Doyle Sails and being part of the team.”

“It is great to have Daniel on board and we know that his wealth of knowledge will pay real dividends in our sail design work,” says Mike Sanderson, CEO of Doyle Sails New Zealand. “In recent years we have seen particular growth in Doyle Stratis’ presence in the performance sector and investing in our team is a key part of a long-term strategy to support clients in this sector and in turn ensure that all our clients benefit from the technology and knowledge that this sector drives.”

DOYLE SAILS NZ LOFT FLOOR from Doyle Sails NZ on Vimeo.

A stellar all round team that covers every aspect of sail making, from R&D and design to sailmaking technology, is a major offering from Doyle Sails New Zealand over its competitors, with the company understanding well that sails are just one key part of the overall picture of successful racing campaigns “Our continued goal for the performance sector is to work with our customers on providing the full package of sail support, ensuring complete integration of all aspects of a successful racing campaign – everything from crew, to ratings optimization to the sails themselves,” says Sanderson

The design department at Doyle Sails New Zealand is a huge part of this strategy with a sophisticated and thorough approach to the design and engineering of all sails that makes use of advanced design software to design and optimize the sails before they are even built. The team applies 3D modelling together with aero and structural analysis to ensure custom sails that fit, and perform outstandingly, straight out of the bag. Fong’s appointment will further cement Doyle Sails New Zealand’s reputation for market leading sail design and the company’s commitment to ensuring that its clients continually benefit from the knowledge of the best in the industry.

Daniel Fong can be contacted at Daniel.Fong@DoyleSails.co.nz